Politics & Government

Queens GOP Leaders Back Dennis Saffran for Halloran's Seat

Douglaston attorney previously ran for City Council in 2001.

It was only on Wednesday that Councilman Dan Halloran, R-Whitestone, announced that he would not seek a second term, but Queens Republicans have already thrown their weight behind another candidate for Halloran’s seat.  

Dennis Saffran, a Douglaston attorney who previously ran in the 2001 City Council race against Tony Avella, has picked up endorsements from former state Sen. Frank Padavan and the Queens County GOP’s executive committee for the 19th District Council seat.  

The party committee and Queens GOP leaders announced their support for Saffran during a Monday night meeting in Whitestone.  

“He is passionately committed to preserving the quality of life in our city and in the neighborhoods of northeast Queens and will relentlessly fight for these neighborhoods in the City Council in the same way I did in Albany,” Padavan said.  

Saffran said he would focus on fighting overdevelopment and preserving high educational quality in School Districts 25 and 26.  

One educational issue he said he felt strongly about is his opposition to a lawsuit that seeks to impose racial quotas at New York City’s specialized high schools.  

“I am running to restore the tradition of integrity and honesty in government set for many years by Sen. Frank Padavan and former Councilman Mike Abel and to preserve and build on the advances in public safety and neighborhood quality of life of the Giuliani and Bloomberg years,” he said.  

Saffran is also the former head of the Center for the Community Interest, a national public interest group that supported many of the Giuliani administration anti-crime and quality of life issues. He is also a vice president of the Douglaston Civic Association.  

Rudy S. Giuliani, a cousin of the former mayor, has also been rumored to be eyeing the seat on the Republican line.  

Democrats vying for Halloran’s seat include attorney Paul Vallone, former state Assemblyman John Duane, long-time community activist Paul Graziano and Austin Shafran, a former member of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration.  

Halloran’s decision to not run for a second term follows his recent arrest in an alleged mayoral rigging scheme as well as City Council Christine Quinn’s announcement that she would open an ethics probe into the councilman’s alleged relationships with two staffers, including an intern. 


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